Whitbread sales boosted by buoyant hotel market

London: Britain’s Whitbread said buoyant demand at its Premier Inn hotels and stronger growth at its Costa Coffee arm helped send second-quarter underlying group sales up 6.8 per cent.

Total sales including new sites for the 11 weeks to Aug 14 rose 12.8 per cent, Britain’s biggest hotel and coffee chain operator said on Tuesday, with business at its Premier Inn arm benefiting from an improving economy and extra trade from the Farnborough Airshow and Scotland’s Commonwealth Games. Whitbread has grown rapidly in recent years due to demand from cost-conscious customers for affordable hotels and an increasing trend for takeaway coffee which has driven growth at its Costa chain.